


Somewhere Between Gatsby, the Galaxy, and a Mixtape

by hopelesswanderer17



Category: Supergirl (TV 2015)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - High School, F/F, Supercorp Background
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-06-13
Updated: 2018-07-26
Packaged: 2019-05-21 19:46:22
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply, Underage
Chapters: 5
Words: 11,276
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14921714
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/hopelesswanderer17/pseuds/hopelesswanderer17
Summary: "Her whisper dies on my lips as she kisses me without abandon, without pain, without any hint of the last twelve years. Her fingers tug against my jaw, and we fall against her bed like time has slowed, like time never even fucking existed."Or,A love story told through the years between Alex and a girl I created.Or,An AU literally nobody asked for





	1. EVERGREEN- BROODS

**Author's Note:**

> This story is one I've had bouncing around in my head for a while. It's pretty canon divergent, and the original character affects a lot of the plot. If that's not your thing, then well, don't read this because it's not going to change.  
> This is my first fanfiction attempt, so let's hope it isn't trash.  
> P.S. Maggie never exists in this story because I want Sanvers as endgame so bad that including Maggie in this story where Sanvers isn't supposed to exist would break my heart.  
> Also, of course, I do not own Supergirl, any of its characters, or any of the songs mentioned in this story.  
> Also, this is unbeta'd, so all the mistakes are mine.

EMBRY

            _The stars blink in the dark sky, and as I gaze at the pinpricks, I can see her dark eyes peering back at me through the inky clouds. I can hear the tenor of her voice, the way the slight pitch of her voice so elegantly braces the names of every star she can see. My body rushes with the memory of her voice, of the way those dark eyes watch the stars shimmering above me. I shake my head slightly, and with still, silent moves, begin to climb the trellis on the side of the Danvers’ house._

_I know all the silence in the multiverse won’t conceal me from the younger Danvers’ if she bothers to listen, but I pray she’s asleep this late- early. I pull myself to the roof, and with steady footsteps, tread to the window of Alex’s bedroom. Her curtains cover her windows, but I can picture her inside, laying on the bed, arm over her eyes, blanket tangled in her legs. I rest my knuckle against the glass for a moment, watching as my breath blossoms out in a pale white cloud in the chilled air._

_I know this is the last place I should be. I know we’re both better off apart._

_But I also know, as strongly as Alex knows the names of the stars still shimmering above me, that there’s no way I’m leaving her again._

_I let out a breath, hard and fast, and finally, rap against the window, the soft sound shattering through the silent night around me. I let my knuckles drop, and within seconds, the window shudders slightly, two pale hands moving the curtain aside to swing the window open. I move only slightly to dodge it as Alex deftly ties back the curtain._

_I keep my eyes down until I can make out the low glow of the lamp breaking through the window. Alex breathes out a word that sounds to much like my name for my body to handle, and finally, I look up at her. Her short auburn hair is messy around her face, strands falling into her dark eyes. Her face is thin and angular, no hint of baby weight on her cheekbone or against her sharp jawline. Her bottom lip is pulled into her mouth, a familiar tension cascading through even more familiar shoulders._

_“God, you still look like you’re seventeen.” I murmur._

_Alex only sighs, lifting a hand to me, “A lot has changed since I was seventeen.”_

_I take her hand and on impact, shivers run through my arm, my eyes fluttering slightly._

_“Not that much.” I whisper._

_Alex tugs me, and with steady, familiar movements, I enter her bedroom, my feet finding the hardwood almost silently._

_“Oh, Embry,” Alex whispers both affectionately and painfully, moving her hand from my own to my face, “It’s a whole different world now.”_

_Her whisper dies on my lips as she kisses me without abandon, without pain, without any hint of the last twelve years. Her fingers tug against my jaw, and we fall against her bed like time has slowed, like time never even fucking existed._

            The day starts like every other. With my journal and a pen, and a pounding headache from the sleep I didn’t get. It starts with my escaping through my bedroom window and avoiding my foster parents, and it starts with me riding my bike, my pen between my teeth, and my journal still tightly clutched in the forefingers of one hand against the handlebar. Midvale High is a quarter mile from my house, and I ride there in a slow, yet strong speed, my bike practically noiseless over the black pavement of the roads.

            The closer to the school I get, the louder the noise is until I’m coasting into the parking lot, weaving slowly through students until I stop at the bike racks. I quickly lock my bike and drop my pen into my waiting hand. I’m climbing the steps to the front doors within seconds, and I’m opening my journal as I walk.

            Class starts in seconds, and I know this because I time it this way. I don’t like the people at Midvale. Not because they’ve done anything, but because if I liked them, it would be much harder to avoid them. And I want to avoid them more than anything.

            I walk into my first class before the bell rings, and I sit in the back before the teacher, Mr. Riggs, says hello. He lets the words die in his mouth. I think he knows I like to be left alone. I respect him for not trying to hard.

            More students pour in as the next minute ticks by and by the time the bell rings, the class is full. I let my pen tap lightly against the new page in my journal. I don’t write, but the action calms me. It also makes everyone else think I’m writing. Which is nice. They leave me alone when I’m busy.

            “Alright, let’s start off class with a discussion of the end of the book.” Mr. Riggs says, “We’re not going to spend too long on this because I want to start you all on your project, but I want to hear some of your opinions first.”

            He sits on the edge of his desk and holds up his copy of The Great Gatsby in a tight role. A lot of the girls in the class think he’s hot; I think he’s trying too hard.

            “Piper,” He says, pointing to one of the popular girls in the front of the class. Her friends around her snicker, but at least their constant conversation quiets as she clears her throat to speak. She twirls the edge of her too blonde hair in her fingers as she speaks.

            “Well,” She says, “I think the book was great. I think the love between Gatsby and Daisy was the focal point, and I think it was… it was like a hallmark movie kind of love.”

            Across the room, Alex Danvers scoffs. Piper slumps a little in her seat, and Mr. Riggs turns to Alex with a raised eyebrow.

            “You have something to add, Ms. Danvers?” He asks.

            I let my eyes wander to Alex. She runs a hand through her now short hair. It’s jagged at her jawline, and the current gossip is that she cut it herself with a pair of kitchen shears. Most of the school thinks it’s another sign that the former golden child has jumped over the edge, but I think it only highlights her beauty. She shifts in her seat, setting her pen down as she leans back, stretching out her ripped jean covered legs and crossing them at the ankles of her tattered combat boots.

            She crosses her arms over the faded band tee she sports as she speaks with a scowl across her lips.

            “What Gatsby had for Daisy wasn’t love. It was trying to hold onto the past, onto what he thought should have been. It’s not a hallmark movie, it’s a tragedy about a man so blinded by some girl that he lets someone shoot him in the head.” Alex says.

            Piper is the one to scoff this time, “It’s about Gatsby loving Daisy through his whole life. It’s a tragedy he died, of course, but it’s his love for Daisy that gave him purpose. That’s not tragic. It’s beautiful.”

            “It’s sick,“ Alex counters, “she just let him die for her.”

            “No, it’s-“

            “Hold on, hold on,” Mr. Riggs says, raising a hand to silence Piper, “You two have gone exactly where I wanted you too. The book is tragic, but what part is tragic? Is it the love story between Gatsby and Daisy or is it simply Gatsby?”

            The class is silent at that, and Mr. Riggs points to a boy in the middle of the classroom, “Jonathan, what do you think?”

            The kid shakes his red hair and shrugs, and Mr. Riggs nods, moving on.

            “Anybody got any ideas?” He silent for a only a second before his eyes meet mine, “Embry, what do you think?”

            I shake my head and shrug, but Mr. Riggs doesn’t let me go.

            “Come on, Embry, I’ve read your essays. You’re insightful. Who do you think was on the right track here? Alex or Piper?” He asks. By now, the class has turned in their seats to look at me, and I can already feel the blush rising in my cheeks. I look down at my journal as I clear my throat, and with a slightly shaking voice, I sigh and look decidedly at Mr. Riggs.

            “Well, I… I, um, think that the most tragic thing is the love story between Gatsby and Daisy. I think that Gatsby loved her so much he took a bullet for her, but I think that the most tragic thing is that Daisy could never love him the way he loved her. Even though, Gatsby dedicated his life to her, I think it was always one sided because Daisy couldn’t love him enough to keep up. I think she tried, but she was never going to leave her husband. I think the most tragic thing is that in some other lifetime, they could’ve made it, but… the timing was wrong.” I say.

            The class is silent, and my cheeks practically burn as hot as the sun. Mr. Riggs makes an appreciative sound in his throat and points an enthusiastic finger at me.

            “That,” He says, “Is the most tragic thing about the story. Beyond their love, beyond Gatsby, beyond everything that happened, the most tragic part of the book is the timing, and that is what I want you all to fix.” He jumps up from his desk as we all turn towards him. I let out a low, long breath as the attention shifts from me to the board, Mr. Riggs now turns to write on. His long, thin hand grabs a piece of chalk off the holder on the bottom of the chalkboard. He scrapes a word on the board: TIMING.

            He turns with excitement on his face, shaking the white powder off his dark hands, “This is what I want you all to focus on. This past semester you’ve learned how to analyze the themes in a work, and you’ve learned how to interpret what you see and write an essay about it, but I want you guys to think deeper. I want you guys to take these interpretations and flesh them out yourselves.”

            He comes back around to the front of his desk and sits back down, holding up The Great Gatsby flat-even though the edges threaten to curl again.

            “Through the course of this semester and the upcoming one I want you and a partner to read and reread this book. I want you to tear it to pieces. I want you to read summaries and notes, and I want you to analyze this book front to back, and I want you and your partner to figure out exactly what time Gatsby and Daisy could’ve worked, and I want the two of you to write it all down.” He says, shaking the book for emphasis, “I want the two of you to write an alternative timeline for Gatsby and Daisy, and when you’re done, I want the two of you to create your own story, the timing can be right or wrong, but I want it to mimic this book. I want you to take all you can analyze from this novel and turn it not only into a new story for Gatsby and Daisy but also a new story you two create all by yourselves.”

            I guess Mr. Riggs can see the horror on all of our faces because he chuckles and sets the book down, standing and walking behind his desk and picking up a clipboard.

            “Don’t worry, guys, it sounds like a lot right now, but you’ll have a partner and the rest of the semester as well as the next, and I’ll help you every step of the way. In a second, I’m going to pass out your rubrics, and we’ll go over them and figure out a little better what I want all of you to do, but first, I want to assign your partners.”

            The class groans, and he laughs again.

            “I assigned you based on your writing styles, and how you interpret things.” He says, then pointedly at Piper’s still talking group at the front of the classroom, “And who I thought you would actually do work with.”

            The class laughs at that, and he begins prattling off names. I clutch my pen tightly in my hand. I hate group projects. Especially, long drawn out, complicated group projects. I wait to hear my name with my inner cheek between my teeth. My heart beats a little too fast as he works his way through the list. Almost no one is paired up with the person they normally would be with, and as such, most of the class is looking at each other in apprehensively silence, but no one protests the names they’re put with.

            Just as look back at Mr. Riggs, he says my name.

            “Embry, you’re with…” He glances down at the list then to the corner of the classroom, “Alex.”

            My too fast beating heart jumps into my throat, and I turn to look at her. She’s looking back at me too, and for the first time, our eyes meet. Her eyes are deep and dark, and as mine connect with hers, I feel my pulse thrum through my veins. My cheeks heat up again, and I stare back down at my journal almost instantaneously.

            Mr. Riggs finishes up the name call and hands someone a paper to pass out, but I can’t focus on the rubric being set on my desk. All I can focus on is the girl reclining back in her desk in the front corner. Alex Danvers. For a whole semester.

            I’m fucked.


	2. FOR EMMA- BON IVER

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I do not own Supergirl, it's characters, or any of the songs mentioned. All the grammar mistakes though... those belong to me.

EMBRY

            Alex Danvers was the perfect student. Perfect person really. She made more than perfect grades, and she was the captain of two different sports team, track and swimming. She was a shoe in for student council president and prom queen, and she was the daughter of two doctors. The school loved her. Hell, the town loved her.

            Then, the Danvers adopted another child, a younger one, named Kara. Her parents had died in an accident of some sort, and she moved in with the Danvers who had apparently been family friends. She was adopted before anyone even knew she was in Midvale. Alex was still the golden child, but Kara was immediately targeted for being different. She was off somehow, weird in a way that almost eclipsed Alex. For a while, Alex seemed to be indifferent to her new sister, but, eventually, almost overnight, Alex became protective of Kara. At first, it was with her words- the eldest Danvers had always had been remarkably sarcastic, but as the bullying got more intense, so did Alex.

            The first time she punched a kid in the face, she was let off with a warning, a couple bruised knuckles, and a day-long suspension her father had to pick her up so she could serve. The second time she punched a kid, it was in his stomach, and Kara had been pushed first. That time Alex was suspended for two days, and her mother picked her up with tears in her eyes.

            That was the last time Alex was at school for three weeks. Four days after her suspension ended, the news broke her father had died. When she came back, she quit track, swimming, and student council, and followed Kara around like a bodyguard.

            The next time she punched a kid, she didn’t stop until Kara dragged her away. She came back after her suspension with boots, ripped jeans, and a leather jacket; her knuckles were still bruised.

            After that, Alex lost the golden child status, and now, a year later, Alex was simply the girl who _had_ it all. She was a product of tail spinning and being crazy. But, at least no one messed with Kara anymore. No one wanted a broken bone via Alex Danvers.

            After a while though, everyone lost interest in Alex Danvers. Except me. For whatever reason, Alex Danvers fascinated me. As the golden child, she was just another face in the crowd, another person doing their best- in her case _the_ best- to fit in. But when Alex Danvers started _falling_ … she became real. She stopped caring about fitting in, and for the first time, I could see someone else in the crowd that looked like… me. Real. Different. Broken.

            I didn’t reach out to her. Alex Danvers may have been fascinating, but she was still someone from Midvale, and I was still avoiding her.

 

            By the time the clock finally ran down, my body was itching with the need to leave. I knew what second the bell rang, and I was counting down to it in my head with the strap of my bookbag clutched in my hand. I’m out of my desk the second the bell rings, grabbing my journal with one hand while slinging my bookbag over with my other. I weave quickly through the students around me, hoping to get out of there as quick as possible, but as soon as I cross the threshold, I feel a hand on my shoulder.

            I turn to see Alex with one hand outstretched towards me. I stop and look at her expectantly. She shifts so she’s out of the doorway, and for the first time, I see her face cloud over with uncertainty as she speaks quickly, her voice rough and warm in all the right places.

            “I don’t know what your schedule is like or whatever, but I’m free this afternoon if you want to just get a plan or something in place for the project. If you can’t, it’s fine we have a semester. I just think we should do it pretty soon.” She says.

            I shake my head and clutch my bookbag tighter, “I.. I can do today. I mean if that’s good with you.”

            Alex nods and bites her lips. My stomach tingles.

            “Yeah, that’s cool. Um, do you have a car, or…”

            “A bike,” I say.

            She nods, “Okay, I live a couple miles away, so you can meet me at the front doors, and I can drive you to my place. My sister will be with us, but we can also just meet somewhere else too, but it would have to be later because I have to drop Kara off.”

            “Meeting after school is fine. I just… you would have to take me back to the school so I could get my bike and go home later.” I say.

            Alex nods and releases her lip, so she can set her mouth in a determined line. Someone bumps into her back, and she straightens her bookbag with a sudden scowl.

            “That’s fine.” She says, meeting my eyes for the first time in the conversation, “I… I’ll see you then.”

            She turns quickly, and I find myself calling an agreement after her disappearing form. I turn and walk almost numbly to my class.

 

            _I lay my head against Alex’s shoulder. She shifts so her arms wrap around my back, her fingers running up and down my spine, from the base of my back to the center of my shoulder blades. I let the fingers of my right hand play in her hair while the other rests softly against her ribs. Our legs tangle together, and underneath my ear, I can hear her steady heartbeat._

_“You have more scars,” I whisper into her collarbone._

_Alex hums, and her arms tighten around me._

_“I know,” she murmurs, “It’s hard to keep up with Kara.”_

_I shake my head and press a kiss to her shoulder._

_“You should stop trying so hard.” I murmur, “I worry.”_

_Alex nods, and when she speaks there’s only understanding in her voice, “I know.”_

_We’re silent for a while, laying in each other’s arms, slowly moving our fingers, slowing lulling each other to sleep with our steady heartbeats._

_As my eyes start to flutter closed, Alex speaks, the loudest we’ve spoken all night._

_“I miss you every day.” She says, honesty making her voice thick, “Every single damn day.”_

_I kiss her shoulder again, “He knew that when he kissed this girl, and forever wed his unutterable visions to her perishable breath, his mind would never romp again like the mind of God.”_

_I let the quote fall over us for a second before I speak again, “I miss you too, Al. Every day.”_

           

            By the time fourth period ends, I’m close to falling to pieces. My heart is shaking in my chest, and my hands are doing the same. Distance is easily obtained in a classroom where you are supposed to talk. It’s less easily obtained in a car with the one person you’ve seen that you could potentially be friends with. Not to mention with her little sister that you already seem to love even though you’ve never met her.

            Kara is magnetically charming even from across a room. It’s a wonder anyone ever bullied the literal ray of sunshine named Kara.

            With the sounding of the bell, I pick up my bookbag and loose a deep breath. Luckily, Alex is only in my first class, and she can’t see the trembling of my hands as I grab journal and begin to leave the calculus class.

            The walk to the front of the school seems to take longer than necessary, but I still make it there too soon. I don’t have time to even spot Alex before a different girl finds me: Kara Danvers.

            She’s taller than my 5’4” by a couple inches, and she’s wearing a cute pink cardigan atop a white shirt. Her blonde hair is in a perfect high ponytail, and the cute smile on her face is extenuated by the dark framed glasses atop her blue eyes.

            “Embry, right?” she says quickly, “Alex texted me and told me to find you after school because she’s going to take a minute because she volunteered earlier to help the chemistry teacher put stuff away. She always helps Mr. Serte put stuff away because she likes being in the chemistry lab which I think is really nerdy, but I don’t mind waiting a little while. I usually go to the library, but since she told you to meet her at the  front of the school, she wanted me to find you instead.”

            She seems to say all of this in one long extended breath, and I nod numbly.

            “Okay, thank you.” I say, “But you can go to the library if you want.”

            Kara shakes her head and motions to the stair railings, “Nah, I’ll stick here with you. I’m waiting from my friend Lena too anyway.”

            I nod and walk with her to the stair railings. We lean there for a second before I speak.

            “Lena Luthor?” I ask.

            Kara stiffens suddenly, her jaw clenching almost imperceptibly.

            “Yeah,” She says, her voice decidedly less bubbly, “Is that a problem?”

            I look at her with a furrowed brow. Her reaction surprises me, and I shake my head. This is why I avoid people.

“No. It’s not a problem. I was just trying to think about who you were talking about. Isn’t there two Lena’s in your year?”

            Kara visibly deflates, “Oh, yeah. Sorry. I just… get defensive. Usually when people ask that… they’re questioning her parents, and she’s nothing like them, and it’s not fair to her, so I always get mad because she’s so not like her parents, and the kids here can just be so mean, and-“

            “Breathe,” I say, cutting her off, “I’m the last person to judge someone based on their parents. Trust me.”

            Kara nods. Then, “What happened?”

            I shake my head and focus on the skyline beyond the school. It’s a charter on the beach, and I can see the waves crashes against the sand even from the front steps.

            “Nothing.” I say, “I don’t know anything about any Luthors anyway, so…”

            I let the conversation fall, and thankfully, so does Kara. Of course, she only stays silent for about ten seconds before she speaks again, but luckily, she’s moved to a new topic. Well, relatively new.

            “Yeah, Lena is pretty cool actually. She’s really smart, like Alex smart, smart. In fact, she wants to be an engineer. Her dream school is MIT. Of course, I think that’s entirely too far away and National City University has a perfect engineering program, and it’s only like an hour away, but anyway, she’d be great anywhere, and she’s more than capable of getting into MIT.” She says, “She also really likes movies which I think is cool beca….”

            I stop listening halfway through her rant about Lena’s perfection, but I make a mental note to pay more attention to them. She talks like they’re dating. Or she’s pining. Either one, really.

            I drown out Kara for another couple of minutes before the front doors open again, and Alex steps out. She’s carrying her bookbag with one hand and has put on a pair of sunglasses. She finds us quickly and walks over. She pulls Kara into a small hug, Kara chattering at her a mile a minute before she turns towards me, simply saying, “Hey.”

            I nod at her, “Hey.”

            She sends me a small, almost pained smile, before turning back to Kara. She lets her talk for another second before she asks, “Where’s Luthor?”

            Kara shrugs and grabs her phone, “I’ll text her. Oh and Alex, would it be at possible for us to bring Winn too?”

            Alex sighs and runs a hand through her jagged hair, “Yeah, but you’re all sitting in the back.”

            Kara nods enthusiastically, and pours all of her talking energy into tapping out texts on her phone. Alex turns to me then, again awkwardly shuffling her feet.

            “Sorry. There’s so many other people coming. I know you aren’t comfortable around people.” She says.

            I shake my head, “I’m fine with people. I’m just not a friend person.”

            Alex looks at me for a long second, and even with the glasses shading her eyes, I can see her regarding me deeply. I look back to the waves crashing on the sand. I can see Alex open her mouth to say something before two other people join our small group.

            She mutters a quick ‘hey’ to them before motioning us off the steps. She darts down them quickly, and I follow right behind her. Kara and Lena and Winn- I assume- behind us talking and laughing loudly. I’m a couple feet behind Alex by the time she gets to her car. It’s a truck, old, 70s style. It’s painted a black that’s seen better days, and as we all walk up to it, Kara, Lena, and Winn all climb into the bed, using the tire as a step. Alex goes to the drivers seat and leans over popping the door of the passenger’s seat for me. I stand at the front of it, and Alex motions her head to the opened door before sliding back into her position, revving the engine. It purrs softly, and I climb in, clumsily. Alex reaches out and steadies me with one hand until I sit on the other side of the black leather bench seat.

            I go to reach for the seatbelt when Alex stops me.

            “Sorry,” She says, “It’s old, and the seatbelt sticks. I’ll ju-“

            She cuts herself off as she leans over me, her hand grasping the seatbelt. In this position, her right hand is on the seat just beside my hip, and her left arm is crossing my body, the back of her neck right in front of my face. The smell of her permeates through my senses, and I can’t help the flood of butterflies in my stomach. She smells like leather, lavender soap, and something darker, saltier, like the ocean.

            She tugs at the seatbelt a couple of times before it clicks away from the holder. She latches it across my body quickly, sliding back into her seat and doing her own seatbelt in seconds. I’m still swimming in her scent when she shifts the truck into gear and begins to pull out of the parking lot. I glance behind me. Kara, Winn, and Lena are all sitting against the back wall and seem unfazed sitting back there.

            “Is that legal?” I ask, “Them, riding back there?”

            Alex glances at me, then out of her rearview, then back at the road as she pulls onto the road leading us out of the school, “Probably.”

            I nod slowly, “Alright then.”

            We sit in silence as Alex drives, and surprisingly, it’s comfortable. It permeates through the cab of the truck, and even though, neither of us speak, there’s a calm that ripples through me. I turn my head and watch the scenery. She turns towards the beach, and it’s on my side as she drives us to her house. I stay silent for a couple minutes before Alex reaches out, tapping the glovebox in front of my knees.

            “There’s a bunch of CDs in there if you want to listen,” She says, “Not that I mind the silence or anything, I’m just saying.”

            “Anything specific you want me to put in?” I ask as I open it. As soon as it falls open, however, I gasp. There are more than just a bunch of CDs. The glove box is completely full, almost overfull with CDs. Some in leather cases, some in plastic, and some just free in the compartment.

            “Woah, how can one even collect all of this in seventeen years?” I ask.

            Alex laughs, “I like music. My… um, my dad would take me to a thrift music store in national city every couple weeks, and I’d just stock up.”

            Her voice grows somber, “I haven’t been there in a while, but I still have the collection.”

            She speaks with the kind of voice that makes me want to change the subject, “This is amazing, Alex. What’s your favorite?”

            I pick up a couple and sift through them. Some band names I know, and some I’ve never seen before. 

            Alex looks over almost sheepishly, “I like to pick and choose honestly. I kind of listen to mixtapes more often than not, but probably one of my favorite straight-up albums is Ceremonials by Florence and The Machine. Or anything by The xx. Or Broods.”

            I nod, “I downloaded I See You by The xx. It was life-changing, and of course, anything Florence puts out is amazing.”

            “You like those bands too?” she asks, “That’s… that’s cool.”

            I only nod, still shifting through CDs.

            I finally settle on a Bon Iver CD. I hold it up to Alex, “Do you know what track For Emma is?”

            She looks at the CD quickly and nods, “Eight.”

            I put it into the stereo, which I notice has been upgraded from the truck’s original format, and click through the songs until track eight plays through the speakers.

            We fall back into a comfortable silence, and I turn towards the ocean again as Alex drives.


	3. FALLINGFORYOU- THE 1975

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Again, I don't own Supergirl or any of it's characters. I do, however, own all my grammar mistakes.

EMBRY

            Alex’s house ends up being about ten minutes from the school. She puts the truck into park and kills the engine before she speaks.

            “Well, here we are,” she says, then with a tinge of sarcasm, “Home. Sweet. Home.”

            I don’t question the voice, and instead, follow her lead into the house, that Kara, Lena, and Winn have already entered. Her house is a large two-story beach house, and from the looks of it, it’s on it’s own private beach. We climb onto the wrap around porch and enter through an arched doorway into a foyer.

            For it’s size and elegance, the house is warm and comfortable, and Alex kicks her shoes off at the door by a pile of more shoes.

            I follow suit but take care to line my converse up against the wall, unlike Alex’s haphazardly thrown boots.

            “So, uh, quick house tour. This is the foyer. And it leads into the living room,” she says pointing around her, “Through that door is the kitchen and then that one the downstairs bathroom. The staircase to the second floor is in the kitchen as well.”

            She leads me to the kitchen where Winn, Lena, and Kara are gathered around a large stainless steel fridge. The place is sleek and modern with stainless steel appliances and black marble tile. Alex hits Kara on the shoulder and squeezes through the trio to reach inside.

            “You want a water or soda?” she asks me.

            “Water,” I say. She nods and grabs two bottles.

            She hands me one before talking to Kara.

            “We’re going to my room to work on our project. Don’t tear the place down.”

            Kara pffts and shakes her head. Lena rolls her eyes.

            “I’ll make sure she behaves.” Lena says.

            Alex salutes her with her hand still holding a bottle of water, “Bless you.”

            At that Kara lets loose a pout that tugs at my heart strings. Lena chuckles, kisses her cheek, and murmurs something in her ear. Kara’s pout disappears and is replaced by a faint tinge against her cheeks. They’re definitely dating.

            Alex only rolls her eyes at the two of them and places a hand against my upper back, guiding me towards the staircase.

            “They’re annoying,” She offers as an explanations as we climb the carpeted stairs. When we reach the hallway, carpeted in the same pale brown material, Alex begins to point to different rooms. All the doors are offset from the tan painted wall with dark brown wood, and as we pass them I notice decorations on the first door. Pink, purple, and what looks like a drawing of a flying puppy.

            “Kara’s.” Alex says, catching my line of sight.

            “Ah,” I say, “That… that’s Kara on a door.”

            Alex chuckles, “Yeah, it is. That door there is my mom’s room, and then her office is across the way, the bathroom, and then at the back is my dad’s old office.”

            I take catalog of the hallway for a second before I stop, looking behind us with a furrowed brow.

            “Do you not have a room?” I ask.

            “I live in a cupboard under the stairs. My real name is Harry.” She deadpans. I roll my eyes at her but look around the hallway again.

            “Seriously though,” I say, “Do you live in an attic or something?”

            Alex reaches above her to a string I didn’t see, and with a single deft movement, pulls down a trap door. A ladder unfolds from the attic entryway, and she locks it into place carefully before smirking at me.

            “Yes, I do actually.” She says, “When Kara first came to live with us, we shared a room, but we quickly discovered that, that wasn’t going to work. So I asked my parents if I could renovate the attic and move up there, and they said yes, so…”

            She climbs onto the first rung of the ladder before finishing her sentence, “Here we are.”

            I nod and make a humming sound in my throat, “Alright then.”

 

            Alex’s room both looks exactly like I thought it would and nothing like I thought it would. The attic is set up like an angular dome, with the highest point in the middle. The sides slope down to a couple feet tall, save for the far wall which is at a higher slope and has a large hinged window. The window is framed with a set of black curtains that seem to be pulled back with a hairband, and the wall around the window is covered in pictures and a mirror that looks to be leaning haphazardly against the wall.

            The walls themselves are painted a dark blue black color that makes the room look smaller than it probably is, but it’s a backdrop for the elegantly, and no doubt perfectly correct, stars painted across the walls and ceiling. I follow them with my eyes until it leads me to Alex’s full sized bed in the far corner, black sheets and blanket tangled up with the two pillows thrown without abandon there.

            Against the same back wall, she has a dresser and a desk pilled with what looks much to like textbooks for my own comfort. On the last wall, is a set of bookshelves crammed with books and CDs and a stereo that Alex crouches to fiddle with now. The room is small and colder than the rest of the house, but it burns with Alex. It smells like her, with the leather jackets haphazardly thrown on a hook on the tallest wall and the surfboard resting on the floor, and it simply feels like her, dark walls, dark sheets, and dark wooden furniture all off set by the bright white pinprick stars coating the ceiling.

            “You have a definite theme in here.” I say.

            Alex nods without looking back at me, “I like black. It matches my soul.”

            I can hear the deadpan sarcasm make a smirk on her face even as the first strains of a song I’ve never heard begin to play through the speakers.

            “It also matches the stars you’ve painted everywhere.” I say. Alex does turn at that. She walks over to where I’m standing in the center of the room and reaches up to touch the constellation right above my head. Her fingers brush the paint almost like she’s recalling a memory.

            “This one,” she says pointing to the constellation a little to the right above us, “is Perseus, and this one, “ she says pointing to the one just beside it, “Is Andromeda.”

            “Two Greek Lovers,” I say.

            Alex looks down at me then. She’s only a couple inches from me, so close that her grey sock covered toes brush against my bare ones. Her dark eyes meet mine, and in the dim light of her dark room, they’re darker than before but seem to glint with the reflection of the stars above us.

            “You like Astronomy?” she asks.

            “I like Greek Mythology.”

            “So did my dad, “ Alex says looking back at the constellation above us, “He used to say that it was the stories that got him into the stars, but I’m kind of opposite. I like the stars more. Astronomy just fascinates me.”

            I watch as her eyes glint up at the stars before she turns back to me. God, she’s gorgeous.

            “In one of the houses I used to live in, my window opened up into this flat alcove of roof, and I would lay there and look at the stars. I never really got into astronomy, but looking at the stars used to… calm me, I guess is the right word.” I say.

            “One of the houses?” Alex asks.

            I nod, but when I speak my voice has a somber edge, “My father was in the Army. We would move around a lot. Midvale is actually the place I’ve been in the longest.”

            Alex regards me slowly. I can tell she’s trying to figure out why my voice changed, and why an army brat ended up in a city without an army base close by.

            “Did your dad retire?” She asks, quietly, tentatively. She’s smart, and I already know that she can see through the façade I place on. I can see it in her eyes. The understanding she has. One broken person to another. I may as well be glass to her.

            “No,” I say, “He was killed in action.”

            Alex makes a sound in the back of her throat, and it sounds like pure pain to my ears. Yet, it’s also comforting in a way. It sounds like understanding. Like the sound of shared trauma. She doesn’t say anything else, just looks at me for another second. Her dark, glinting eyes are soft, and her jagged hair falls haphazardly around her. In the dim light, her auburn hair is dark and almost haloed by the light behind her. It makes her even more ethereal than she was before.

            “Thank you,” I say, after a second, “For not saying, I’m sorry.”

            Alex looks back up at the constellation above us, “I know it’s stupid, and that it doesn’t help.”

            I chuckle, “You don’t pull any punches, do you?”

            “And you do?” she asks, looking back at me, this time with a small, soft smile against her previously frowning lips.

            “No,” I say, “I guess not. But then again, I don’t really talk to many people.

            Alex cocks her head, her smile deepening, “I’ve noticed. Why is that, by the way? You seem to function semi-normally?”

            I shrug and even though it makes my body burn slightly, move away from her towards the bed. I sit on the edge, and Alex follows plopping down in the center ungracefully, throwing her book bag just to the side of her. I let my fall to the floor as I turn to Alex, tucking my feet into a crossed position in front of me.

            “I want to get as far away from here as possible," I say, “I’m trying to minimize the amount of people I leave behind.”

            Alex leans back against the headboard, furrowing her brows with a pout that rival’s Kara, “That’s-“

            “Dark,” I finish.

            Alex shakes her head, “No way to live.”

            I meet her eyes, and while it isn’t the first time, ours have met, there is something significantly reverberating about this connection. Our eyes meet with an electric shock of emotion, of understanding. She can see through me like glass, and I can see through her like cellophane. There’s no guard in her eyes, and I know that there’s none in mine. Despite knowing her for a handful of minutes, Alex Danvers is the first person I’ve told this level of truth too. I can see in her eyes that the feeling is mutual.

            She’s the first to break the contact. She reaches for her bookbag and draws out her copy of The Great Gatsby.

            “So,” She says, “Where do we start on this project?”


	4. ANGELS- THE XX

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks to everyone leaving comments, kudos, and bookmarking; it means alot! As always the only thing I own are my grammar mistakes.

 

ALEX

            _Embry sleeps soundly in my arms, her face pressed into my collarbone, one of her hands curled against my ribs and the other still threaded through my hair. Her soft breathing fills the air around me. I can feel the steadiness of her lungs against my chest, and on her every exhale, I can hear my heart beat._

_She claimed I hadn’t changed when she came through my window, but seeing her in the window, framed by the night, green eyes blinking at me with all the softness she can muster, I was seventeen again. Seventeen and falling helplessly in love for the first and only time._

_Seventeen and falling apart._

_Seventeen and completely, irrevocably, hers._

                 

            We fall silent after a while, both flipping through the pages of The Great Gatsby with fervor. I stopped knowing what I was looking for a while ago, but Embry seems concentrated, her pale green eyes are narrowed at the pages in front of her, her brow furrowed as her lips mouth out the words she’s reading in silence.

            I am not ignorant enough to ignore the fact that if she wasn’t here I’d be working, but something about Embry Hale has always distracted me. She’s a magnet for my attention, and this moment, her sitting on my bed, dark hair falling into her face like an obsidian halo, and pale fingers tapping her book restlessly, she is no less distracting as she is in my English classroom every morning, sitting in the back always writing in her leather journal.

            I’m still studying Embry more than my book when the ladder to the attic shakes. My eyes fly to the door. I let loose a sigh as Kara’s blonde head appears, a too wide smile across her face.

            “What?” I ask, causing Embry to jump. She looks quickly at the ladder before she relaxes, turning back to the book in her hands.

            It takes too much effort to tear my eyes from her to Kara as she speaks to me.

            “Can you come downstairs and pay for the pizza, Lena, Winn, and I ordered? We thought we had enough money, but we didn’t because I forgot that Mom gave you the money for dinner.” She says, then, “We ordered enough for you and Embry of course, so you guys can come and start a movie with us if you’re done with your homework.”

            I glance at Embry, only to find her already looking up at me.

            “It’s up to you,” She says before I can ask anything.

            I shrug, “Come on, let’s take a break.”

            She nods and dog ears the page she’s on before following Kara and I down the ladder.

           

            I pay the pizza guy and tip him more than normal for waiting so long. Kara is ravenous as always and begins digging through the pizza box before I can even close the front door.

            “Kara, heel,” I say, snatching the boxes from her grasp. She pouts at me, but I’m immune. Embry only chuckles lightly. I smile at her as I set the pizza boxes on the counter.

            “Thanks, Alex,” Kara says, vehemently digging into the pizza box now, pulling out three slices in one go. Winn follows shortly behind her, and I nod at Kara as Lena comes up.

            She reaches into the cabinet for a plate.

            “When are you going to learn how to eat pizza like a Danvers, Luthor?” I ask, grabbing a slice and handing it to Embry before grabbing my own.

            Lena only rolls her eyes at me before grabbing a slice of pizza.        

            Embry eyes her with a smile. She turns to me with a raised eyebrow.

            “Please tell me she doesn’t eat pizza with a fork and a knife.” She says, her nose scrunching up as she chuckles.

            I shake my head and take a large bite of my pizza, “Of course, she does, the kid is wearing a fucking pantsuit right now.”

            Embry laughs out loud now, and the sound sends a tingle down my spine. I’ve heard her chuckle, but her laugh is a whole different creature. It makes warmth spread through my cheeks, and my lips tug into a grin.

            Lena meets my eye and follows it with a raised middle finger. Kara gasps something about language before shoving more pizza into her mouth. I roll my eyes.

            “What movie are you guys watching?” I ask.

            Winn swallows his bite of pizza, “The Great Gatsby.”

            Embry and I meet each other’s eyes with matching scowls. _Great._

 

            We pour into the living room for the movie. Kara, Winn, and Lena all take up the couch, stretching out obnoxiously, Kara’s feet in Winn’s lap, his feet on the table, and Kara’s head in Lena’s lap.

            I guide Embry to the love seat, and as we sit, Kara reaches up, turning off the light. The living room is plunged in darkness then, the only light coming from the tv. The love seat is angled almost perpendicular to the tv, and I have to turn towards Embry to see the TV. In this position, my feet crossed in front of me, my back against the arm rest, Embry is in my direct line of sight. She isn’t paying any attention to me, but I can see the tension in her shoulders. She isn’t used to being in this situation, I know immediately. In fact, this problem goes against everything she’s working for. She told me she didn’t want friends.

            _I’d be lying if I said that didn’t sting just a little._

            Still, though, she doesn’t say anything about the situation. I can tell she’s trying hard to look at ease, and I want to respect that so I stay quiet. However, as the movie plays, the scenes unwinding before us, staying quiet seems harder and harder, and I can’t help but catalog Embry’s mood, the tension in her shoulders, the unease clenching her jaw.

            I lean closer then, brushing my hand lightly across her shoulder until she turns towards me, slight surprise in her green eyes.

            “Are you okay?” I mouth, careful not to draw Kara’s attention.

            Embry shrugs and nods, and carefully, pulls her knees to her chest and turns back to the tv. The tension in her shoulders only seems to increase. Shirts flutter around the screen, Daisy’s laughter echoing through the quiet room. I sigh, and with only a second of hesitation, grab Embry’s arm.

            “Come on,” I say, this time loud enough for the others to hear, “Let’s get out of here.”

            Kara opens her mouth to protest, but I’m already tugging Embry from the couch and pulling her towards the back door before she can speak. I fling the glass door open, and in a couple of seconds, we’re both outside, headed towards the beach.

            We’re quiet padding through the sand, but as we come to stand just at the edge of the shoreline, my hand still lightly wrapped against Embry’s bicep, she speaks, her voice soft and slightly far away.

            “Thank you.”

            I turn towards her just enough to look at her through my eyelashes, “Anytime. I could see you were uncomfortable.”

            She knocks her toes against the sand, pushing rivulets into the ground beneath her shuffling feet.

            “I shouldn’t’ve been.” She murmurs, “We were just watching movies, I would’ve been fine.”

            I shake my head, and instinctually, the hand holding her bicep drifts, falling slowly, fingers trailing into her palm. My heart hammers in my chest, and I have to fight to keep my breathing normal, careful, contained.

            Embry spasms slightly at my movement, and she tenses even further. I go pull my hand away just as she curls her fingers up, brushing them up until they interlock with mine.

            My heart goes from hammering to pounding. I can feel it in every shaking breath I take. I swallow forcefully, and carefully form my next words, my every nerve focused on Embry’s hand in mine.

            “You don’t have to be anything.” I say, “You’re allowed to be uncomfortable in any situation, you find uncomfortable. It’s not a bad thing.”

            Embry is quiet at that, and I risk another glance at her before she talks. Her hair is almost black in the dark around us, but her green eyes practically glow in the moonlight.

            “I thought you were a puncher, not a comforter.” She says lightly.

            I shrug softly, careful to not move the hand still barely grasped in Embry’s.

            “I only punch people who deserve it.” I say, “You don’t deserve it.”

            Embry laughs at that and turns her head, our eyes catching one another suddenly. My hammering heart stops completely at the soft, sad smile on her lips, and the glint in her bright green eyes.

            “You haven’t known me long enough.” She murmurs.

            Sadness laces through me, tangling through my muscles, pulling completely towards the soft smile against her lips. I squeeze her hand, one deliberate quick movement that makes my heart pound, and her eyes fly to our joined palms.

            “Yeah,” I whisper, “I think I have.”

            Embry looks at me then, and her eyes trace across my face, her lips tugging into a concentrated line. She returns the squeeze to my palm as our eyes meet, and with a small shake of her head, she whispers again.

            “Damnit. I knew this was a bad idea.” She says.

            I pull my hand away immediately, turning so I stand directly opposite her. Something like fear rockets through me, “What?”

            Embry’s eyes widen, and she shakes her head quickly, her hands coming up in a sign of surrender.

            “I meant,” she says, “That I knew it was a bad idea to work with you because…”

            She trails off and drops her hands, and as she pushes the sand again with her feet, she looks back up, “Because I knew I was going to be friends with you.”

            I know that there’s more she wants to see, but I can also tell by what looks like the blush against her cheeks that she’s not going to say anymore. But I don’t care. The happiness that spikes through my chest at her calling me a friend overshadows whatever else she meant. I grin as I playfully push my shoulder into hers. A smile breaks across her face, and as she bumps me back, she laughs, then suddenly serious, even though her eyes glint mischievously, speaks.

            “Can we talk about the fact that you live on the actual fucking beach?”

 

            _My eyelids are heavy, and my body burns with exhaustion. But I can’t sleep. All I can do is feel Embry laying atop me, curled around me, steady breathing rushing past full parted lips into the skin of my neck._

_Everywhere her body touches mine, electricity shoots through me, yet, my muscles have never felt more relaxed. I practically sink into the mattress beneath me, and as I lay there, my eyes half open, my skin tingling, my body focused only on the feeling of Embry against me, I stare up at the ceiling, at the glowing white pinpricks of stars still painted there._

_A slight breeze flutters through the still open window; it brings in the smell of the saltwater feet away, and it only makes the smell of Embry, a combination of mint and some herb I can’t place with a hint of steel, stronger._

_My eyes finally close, but I still can’t find sleep. I still can’t bear to not try to commit every moment of this, of holding Embry, to memory._

_“Al?” she whispers, suddenly and softly, and with the thickness of being still mostly asleep._

_“What’s wrong?” I murmur, turning my head, so I can gaze down at her, my lips just at her forehead._

_“Stop thinking,” she murmurs, “Start sleeping.”_

_I let loose a sigh and reach up, threading her hand through her hair, scratching lightly against her scalp, “Sorry. I just… can’t shut my brain off.”_

_She nods against my shoulder, and in slow, almost laborious movements, moves to an elbow. From this position, I can see her whole face, from the tired pallor of her skin and the red, sleep marks against her cheek, to the softness gracing her gaze._

_“Sit up,” She murmurs, moving so our legs untangle._

_I stumble over my words, and she must see the panic on my face because she moves the arm she’s not leaning against to brush her fingers against my cheek._

_“I’m not leaving, Al,” she murmurs, “I just want to help you get to sleep.”_

_“Okay,” I mutter. I sit up, Embry’s hand still lightly brushing across my cheekbone. I turn into her palm and kiss her there. She hums underneath her breath, her eyes closing sleepily._

_“Now, c’mere,” she whispers, laying down against the pillow my head was just resting against. I roll my eyes as I lay back down, turning onto my side, resting my head into the crook of her neck. One of Embry’s arm wraps around my waist, and the other moves to my hair, her fingers threading through it, scratching and massaging my hair the way I was doing to her not a minute ago._

_“Now,” she murmurs, her words reverberating from her chest to my ear pressed into her skin, “Sleep.”_

_I sigh darkly and force my eyes closed. Embry only chuckles as she scratches my scalp, lazily lulling me to sleep. Just when I think Embry is about to fall back asleep herself, her voice breaks through, turning into the haunting refrains of a song I haven’t heard since we were kids laying in the same bed._

_“Light reflects from you shadow… It is more that I thought could exist.”_

_Her voice fills the quiet room and every inch of my tired body. I hum into her neck, and she only turns her head, singing quieter but closer, her fingers and voice lulling me closer and closer to sleep._

_“They would be… as in love with you as I am. They would be… as in love you as I am.”_

_She murmurs the song, her voice rising and falling in perfect pitch as she floats through the song, her chest rising and falling with the tenor of each note. I imagine it ends just as softly and suddenly as it started, but as I fall asleep and drift into a dream, it never stops._


	5. SHELTER- THE XX

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks again to all the people leaving comments, kudos, and bookmarking! I never expected this to get any attention tbh, but I am so touched.   
> As always, the only things I own are my extensive mistakes.

EMBRY

            Alex and I end up sitting in the sand, with our feet, now bare, brushing the edge of the waves lapping against the shore. Nighttime has completely set in around us, and the only real light is from the moon and the stars above us. Alex and I have long since fallen quiet, and it feels like hours since we held hands, but I can still feel her skin burning into mine. I can also still feel the blush burning against my cheeks, and my heart still hammering in my chest.                                                                                                                                

            The water before me is beautiful, dark and powerful and mesmerizing, but it never seems to hold my attention from Alex very long. Because the ocean before us is beautiful, but Alex is breathtaking. Alex is distracting. All angular cheekbones and pale skin with auburn hair that falls in jagged waves. Long eyelashes framing gorgeous hazel eyes. Full lips bracing the most dazzling smile ever conjured.

            I yearn to look away from her, so she doesn’t notice, but I want nothing more than to stare at her all night. But I can’t. Because if I stare at her all night, not only will she never talk to me again, but I’ll never be able to sleep again. I already know that I’m going to dream of her tonight, and the last thing I need is to commit more of this to a memory to replay over and over.

            The truth is Alex Danvers is both everything and nothing like I expected. She is just as curious and just as enigmatic as I thought she would be with her dark, almost elusive eyes, and in the way, she’s made me pour out my soul tonight, even though she’s barely said three words about herself. But she is also kind and caring and…

            I force my eyes away from her and fix them on the darkening horizon. I let my eyes flutter closed, focusing only on the sound of the rushing waves, hoping they drown out the thoughts curling through my head.

            “Usually, I’m surfing about this time,” Alex says, drawing me, snapping me, from my thoughts. I lean casually on the knees pulled to my chest and turn my head towards Alex. She isn’t looking at me, but her perfect face has transformed into an image of peace and happiness, a full smile against her full lips, and I am grateful she can’t see the visceral reaction her happiness causes in me, the way it makes my own lips tug into a grin.

            “You surf at night?” I ask.

            Alex nods, her eyes still locked onto the waves before us, her eyes still glinting perfectly in the pale white light of the moon.

            “My dad use to take me whenever we finished dinner. He knew it was always more dangerous at night, but it was always more…” She trails off, and I grin as she lifts her hands up into the air, gesturing with them trying to find the correct word.

            “Peaceful?” I ask.

            She looks at me then with, a goofy, almost Kara like, grin.

            “Liberating.” She says, “It’s freeing. Just you, and the stars, and the darkness, and there’s nothing to worry about except staying afloat.”

            I rest my head on my knees as I look at her, and she meets my eyes, a soft smile taking over her grin.

            “That sounds nice.” I say.

            Alex nods, and she turns back to the ocean, drawing her knees up to her chest. She wraps her arms around her knees and lightly clasps her hand together before she talks again.

            “It was nice.” She says. There’s a somberness to her voice that resonates deep in my stomach, and with the same kind of unexplainable, unstoppable magnetism as when I connected our hands, I scoot closer and lay my hand against her shoulder. She tenses, and I curse internally, ready to scoot back to my spot when Alex relaxes, her head coming to rest against mine.

            Silence falls back around us, and I know without a doubt, staring at the picturesque dark ocean, with my head tucked securely into Alex’s shoulder, that Alex Danvers is going to be in my dreams for the rest of my life.

 

_Alex finally falls asleep, her arms curled sleepily around my stomach and neck, her face pressed into my neck. Her breath fans across my skin, and it tickles, shivers writing up and down my spine. I stay still though. As still as physically possible, save for the hand still drawing illegible patterns in her scalp. In the darkness, I stare up at the stars above us. The white paint is just bright enough to see in the dimness of her room, and they are nothing compared to the stars I’ve seen outside of the window of my spaceship. Yet, as I look up at them, I can’t imagine anything more beautiful, anything more heart wrenching and breathtaking. Well, save for maybe Alex herself._

_I sigh softly and move to press against Alex’s forehead before I slowly let my eyes flutter closed, my attention focused on Alex’s steady breathing._

_I’m lulled to sleep by the sound of her, and under the painted stars of Alex’s childhood bedroom, I finally sleep deeply. There, under the painted stars of Alex’s childhood bedroom and under the weight of Alex herself, I am finally home._

I don’t know how much time passes as we sit with our heads pressed together, but I do know that the ease circling in my stomach is addictive. We don’t really talk, save for a few occasional mentions of different things, but the silence is nice, comfortable. I’m unsurprised by it considering we’ve spent most of the evening in the same odd, comfortable silence, but the ease swirling through me…

That’s disconcerting.

The last emotion I ever associated with Alex Danvers was ease. Anxiety, fear, connection. Those were emotions I associated with Alex, but this ease, that’s all I feel. At least right now, with my head against her shoulder, staring at the ocean.

The ease in my stomach contorts quickly; however, when Alex’s name is yelled across the beach. The sudden sound must jar Alex too because she jumps, dislodging my head with a start. Alex whips her head around, her dark hazel eyes wide as she gazes back towards her house. I follow her eyes to see an older blonde woman standing in the light of the glass door. She’s silhouetted by the light of the house, but even without seeing her face, I can see the tension in her body; the hands on her hips are arguably more fearsome than when Superman does it.

            “Alex!” The woman yells again, “It’s getting late! Come inside!”

            Alex lets out a low groan and climbs, begrudgingly, to her feet.

            “My mother,” she says, as explanation, to me. I nod and climb to my feet too. Alex waits for me to stand and dust the sand off my pants before trekking back towards her house. I follow a good step behind her, and as we walk up the small hill of sand, I watch as Alex completely changes before my eyes. I didn’t exactly realize how open and relaxed she was on the beach until this moment, until all the relaxation is draining off of her. Her shoulders tense and raise, her back straightening, her body bracing as if expecting an impact. I can’t see her face, but I know without a doubt that her signature scowl has found it’s place against her lips. It takes me a second to realize that I barely saw her scowl this evening.

            We make it to the doorway just as the blonde woman sighs, motioning to Alex with what I can now see is a disappointed frown. It’s concentrated against the woman’s lips, and as I take in her face, I notice it’s the only feature that translated to her daughter. The rest of Alex, from her angular cheekbones to big, dazzling hazel eyes, must be a carbon copy of her father.

            Alex shrugs nonchalantly, and after a light roll of her eyes, the blonde woman’s eyes slide to me. A smile replaces the frown almost instantly, and the lightness in her eyes makes me wonder if Kara is really adopted at all.

            “Hi,” the woman says, “I’m Eliza. Alex’s mom.”

            She outstretches a hand towards me, and Alex steps slightly to the side, so I can reach toward Eliza and shake her hand.

            “Embry.” I say, “It’s nice to meet you Dr. Danvers.”

            Eliza only smiles and gestures for us all to go inside, “Please, call me Eliza.”

            I follow her, and Alex follows me, a new air of sullen overtaking her tense form.

            The reaction between the two is giving me a sense of whiplash.

            When we’re inside the living room, Alex speaks.

            “We were working on a project from school. We got paired together for a pretty big project in our English class.” She says.

            She says it like an explanation, and I can’t help the faint blush that rises to my cheeks. I wonder what we looked like to Eliza. Her daughter and a girl she’s never met sitting on a dark beach leaning against each other. My heart rates spikes, and I am instantly uneasy.

            A quick glance at Alex though calms my pulse slightly. She doesn’t look fazed or embarrassed talking to her mother, just tense.

            I would make a mental note to ask her about her reaction later, but I know I don’t really need to. I can see a strained mother daughter relationship from a mile away. Comes with experience I guess.

            “Oh, well that’s nice.” Eliza says, “I would say you could keep working, but it’s getting late, and it’s a school night. I’m sure the two of you have started early anyway.”

            I spare another glance at Alex. I can see that she’s blinking away a roll of her eyes, and it takes a little too much willpower not to chuckle at her.

            “Of course,” Alex says, “I’m just going to drive her back to the school, so she can get her bike.”

            Eliza is already turning away from her daughter, almost ignoring her.

            “Be careful,” she says, “It was nice to meet you, Embry.”

            “You too, Dr- Eliza.” I say.

            With that, Eliza disappears into the kitchen and presumably upstairs. Alex sighs and runs a hand through her jagged hair. She tousles it, and my breath catches as I focus my attention back to her.

            “Sorry about her.” Alex says without an explanation, “But I guess, I should get you back.”

            I nod, and with that, Alex leads me out of her house and to her truck.

            I’m sad without even really realizing it.

 


End file.
